Seven Day Tribulations
by Serendicity
Summary: AU Lacus and Cagali meet up with Athrun and Kira after being apart for 5 years and go on vacation together to a resort for one week. Lacus and Cagali have a plan to bring Kira and Athrun closer together... [KiraAthrun] [DISCONTINUED: Read inside.]
1. Chapter 1: Reunited

Authoress: Rei-chan

A/N: My first published fanfic! (My first published YAOI fanfic nonetheless... XD) I've been plotting this fic for a long time now and it's finally time to make it happen. This fic is mainly centered on uke Athrun and seme Kira (later on, anyways X3) because I think that pairing order is the cutest thing ever. I really hope you all like it and I'm working really hard on this! Feedback is much appreciated! 3

Summary: (AU) Kira and Athrun had been separated since the age of 12 for 5 years due to relocation because of political reasons. Now at the age of 18, Lacus and Cagali along with Kira and Athrun are reunited again and decide to spend some time together at a resort for one week. Lacus and Cagali knew how close Athrun and Kira were together, and wanted to bring them even closer to each other. They devise a little plan to help make their idea happen, and things get only deeper from there...

Chapter 1: Reunited

* * *

Cagali waited with Kira inside of Lacus' living room, along with Lacus as well as they chatted excitedly with one another while waiting for Athrun to arrive.

"This is so exciting! It's going to be so wonderful to do things together once again!" said Lacus, smiling brightly and bouncing slightly in place.

Kira smiled back at her and looked to the clock on the wall. Cagali noticed him looking in that direction almost every 3 minutes and grinned deviously.

"It looks like my brother can't seem to wait another second either," said the firey blonde while poking him in the shoulder and smiling broadly.

The brunette chuckled in response and turned his head to look at her. "It's just that I haven't seen him for over 5 years... I wonder if he's changed at all..." Cagali just looked down at him with amusement until they heard the doorbell ring. Immediately Kira shot up from the couch and ran over to the door, opened it, and was greeted by the sight of his childhood best friend, who was not so much of a child anymore. They just stood there for a moment and gaped at each other, examining each other's bodies and how much they had grown up, until Lacus came up from behind Kira, breaking their trance.

"ATHRUN!" screamed the pink-haired girl, pushing Kira out of the way and giving the blunette a death hug. "I've missed you so much! It's been so long! Ahhhhh! How are you, how are you!"

"Ahh... Lacus..." Athrun's face started turning red from lack of air as he unlatched her arms from his neck and gasped, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing. "I'm fine."

The pink-haired girl blushed and laughed nervously, stepping back and bowing in apology. Cagali then came up after Lacus, smiling cheerfully. "Athrun! Long time no see!" she ran over to him and gave him a friendly hug. Athrun smiled back at her. "It's nice to see you all." His gaze drifted back over to Kira as the brunette grinned happily back at his friend, causing the blue-haired boy to blush.

"So how about we get your stuff packed up? Everyone else loaded their stuff into the car before you came," said Cagali, directing Athrun back out the door to help him with his things. He nodded and walked back outside with the Cagali.

Kira watched the two as they walked out when Lacus came up next to him, smiling almost overly-happily. "So what do you think of Athrun? He's grown up a lot, hasn't he?"

"Yeah..." he said, still keeping his eyes locked on his friend.

Lacus giggled. "I bet he's matured in all the right places too... I bet you wouldn't mind taking a peek at that nice, grown-up body of his naked, would you?"

The brown-haired boy nearly fell over when Lacus' words reached his ears. "LACUS! I'm not like that! He's just my friend!"

Lacus fell into a laughing fit when she saw Kira's reaction and had to balance herself on his shoulder to keep herself standing up straight. Kira just looked away with disgust, blushing like mad.

Cagali came back in with Athrun after packing all of his things into the car and cast a questioning glance at Lacus, who was almost laughing herself into a coma.

"Uhhhhhh what's so funny?" Cagali asked.

"It's nothing..." Kira said as he tried to calm the pink-haired woman down.

Cagali shrugged and asked, "Well everything is ready to go so I'm ready when everyone else."

Lacus glanced around at everyone. "Well I'm ready..."

"So am I," Kira replied.

"Great! Then let's get going, shall we?" the blonde clapped her hands together excitedly and motioned for the boys to get in the car. They did as they were instructed, and headed out to Cagali's car to sit in the back seats.

She waited until they were out of the house and walked over to Lacus. "It looks like our plan just might work... I can't wait to see their reaction once we tell them about their rooms..." Cagali snickered.

Lacus laughed along. "Yeah... This is going to be a very interesting vacation..." They both smiled at each other and proceeded to walk outside to join Athrun and Kira in the car.

* * *

Once they arrived at the resort after a long 4-hour drive with Lacus singing car songs and Athrun getting car sick every 15 minutes, they walked into the glossy glass front doors into the hotel lobby. The place smelled of flowers and fresh rain because of all the authentic decorative plants arranged throughout the area. Cagali and Lacus headed towards the front desk to get their rooms and keys.

"I'm really happy to finally see you again, Athrun... I can't believe how much you've changed!" Kira exclaimed.

Athrun chuckled slightly and blushed a little. "You've changed a lot yourself, Kira... And I'm so glad we can finally spend time together again just like we did when we were younger," he replied, smiling gently.

The girls had come back already holding a set of keys. "Here. These are for each of you to your room you will be staying in," said Cagali, placing a key in each boy's palm.

"Wait... 'Room?' We're both staying together in one room?" Athrun asked, blushing slightly.

"Well, yeah... Is there a problem with that?" Cagali asked. Lacus was right next to her, trying her hardest to hold back a laugh.

"Well, no, but..."

"Oh yeah, and there's only one bed because that's all that was available. Have fun!" she smiled, turing and waving to Athrun and Kira.

Athrun's jaw dropped and his eyebrow started twitching. "Wh-wh-what?"

"We'll see you tonight, guys!" Lacus said happily, following Cagali.

"B-but..."

Kira smiled nervously at the gaping blunette standing beside him. "Well, I guess we should go check out our room!"

Athrun looked back at him, feeling his face heat up. "Uhh right..." _"It can't be that bad... We're best friends after all... Best friends can sleep together... Right...? Oh god, that sounds so perverted... Kira's body has matured so much... What if I accidentally see him naked!"_

"Uhmm... Athrun?" Kira said, waving his hand in front of his friend's face, snapping him out of his daze.

"Ah—Sorry Kira, let's go." Athrun started walking briskly to the elevator, trying to hide his very red face.

"Hey, wait for me!" the brown-haired boy yelled, running to catch up to Athrun.

The two boys stopped on the 6th floor and followed the sets of doors until they found their room number. Lacus and Cagali had set it up so their rooms were right across from each other. "I guess we should go inside now," Kira said.

Athrun inserted the key and turned it, as the noise of metal clinking sounded, and opened the door. Both of the boy's jaws dropped at what they saw.

There was a king-sized bed right in the center of the room against the wall with black and red satin sheets and way too many decorative pillows towards the top. There were also some unlit candles across the top of the headboard. Next to the bed there was a wooden nightstand with drawers built into it, an oriental-stlyed table lamp, and a medium glass bowl which neither boys could figure out the purpose of. Towards the other side of the room was an entertainment center with a fairly large television and some pictures on the walls of lighthouses and nighttime ocean scenes.

"What... _Is_...this? Did they give us the honeymoon suite or something!" Kira shouted, confused.

"Well... They _did_ say it was the only room available..." Athrun replied.

"It is nice, nonetheless," Kira said, smiling and running into the room to flop on the bed.

Athrun just stood there blushing like mad, thinking of how on earth he would be able to handle sleeping with Kira in a setting like _this_... Especially when the brunette is always so oblivious to everything. Kira saw Athrun standing there staring into space as usual, and threw a pillow at his friend, hitting Athrun square in the face. He burst out in laughter and Athrun threw the pillow back at the older boy, laughing as well.

_"Maybe it won't be SO bad... We used to sleep together and even take baths together as children... It won't be any different now that it was then... Fuck. What the hell am I thinking? Of COURSE it's different! We're 18 years old and don't have kid's bodies anymore!" _Athrun sighed before an image came into his mind. _"Kira... In the shower with me... CRAP!" _Athrun shook his head. "I've gotta stop thinking like this!" he accidentally said out loud.

"Thinking like what?" Kira asked innocently, while flipping through the TV stations.

"O-oh... Uhhhhhh nothing, just... "

A knock was heard on the door. "Hey guys! Open up!" a girl's voice sounded from behind the door.

Athrun turned around and opened up the door to be greeted by a familiar blonde.

"How do you like your room" she asked, beaming.

"Uhhhh... It's a little much... But I guess it's nice," Athrun replied.

"Good. So here's the plan for tonight. We're leaving to go out for dinner in about a half hour. I expect you two to be ready and dressed by then. Got it? All right! See you then!" Cagali turned around and went back to her room to join Lacus.

"Okay..." Sometimes Athrun was suprised by how much of a control freak Cagali could be. She never even told him what was happening until the last minute.

"What's up?" Kira asked, sitting up on the bed and looking in Athrun's direction.

"Cagali just came over and said we're going out for dinner in under a half hour, so we should probably get ready."

"That sounds good. I'll start getting dressed." In an instant, the brunette stood up, pulling his shirt off, giving his friend a full view of his finely-toned and slim torso.

Athrun stumbled and quickly looked away, blushing like crazy and breathing harshly.

"Hey Athrun, are you all right?" Kira asked full of concern and began walking over to the younger boy.

"I-I'm fine!" He swiftly went to his suitcase, grabbed a shirt and a pair of black pants, and went into the bathroom to change.

Kira raised his eyebrows, confused by his friend's strange behavior, and went back to getting dressed.

In the bathroom, Athrun sighed, looking himelf in the mirror and saw how red his face was. _"This is going to be a long week..."_

* * *

A/N: So... How was it? Hated it? Loved it? Please tell me! I've still got lots of chapters to come and I want to do my best to please everyone. And don't worry, things will start to get better between Athrun and Kira in time... X3 Please, please review! 3 


	2. Chapter 2: Part I: Apprehensions

A/N: Ooooh my gosh, sorry it took so long to get chapter two up everybody! And this isn't even all of chapter two! ;; It ended up taking so long that I just decided to cut this one into two parts... And already this first half is longer than chapter one so it works out pretty well I guess. Anyways, sooooo so sorry for the delay! Gomen nasai! bows Without any further adue, here is chapter 2 (part one) XD;; Enjoy:3

Chapter 2-Day 1-Part I: Apprehensions

* * *

Athrun finished dressing in the bathroom, ocassionally tripping or stumbling from nerves. Once fully clothed, he cautiously opened the door and walked back into the bedroom where Kira was, trying to hide his blush under his azure bangs. 

Kira had been watching TV and turned around to look at his friend. "You look good in that outfit Athrun," he said relentlessly, smiling and turning back to the television. Athrun blushed even more than he already was before. "Uhh, thanks..." He walked over to his suitcase to put away his things to help kill time, the thought of his amethyst-eyed friend never leaving his mind. A few minutes later, a knock on the door was heard and Kira got up to answer it. His shirt happened to hike up his side, Athrun's emerald green eyes being immediately drawn to the older boy's fine midriff. Kira pulled his shirt back down, much to Athrun's disappointment, and opened the door.

"Ready to go?" Cagali asked, with a beaming Lacus behind her.

"Uhh yeah, I'll ask Athrun." Before he could even turn around, the blue-haired teen was right next to him. "Let's go," Athrun said. Cagali and Lacus smiled, and they were on their way to drive through town to look for a place to eat.

* * *

It ended up being a very busy night in town; lots of restaraunts they stopped by were full or the wait was too long and the more they looked, the later and busier it got. 

"Man, this stinks!" said Cagali who was the one driving. "If this keeps up we're going to starve." Athrun felt his stomach growl, quite loudly as well causing Kira to laugh.

"It looks like Athrun's getting impatient too," the brunette commented.

"Maybe we should just pick something up and go out tomorrow night or something..." suggested the pink-haired girl.

"It looks like we have no choice," Cagali replied. "So what are you guys hungry for then?"

"Anything..." Athrun replied, without hesitation.

She laughed in response and tried to think of something that they would all agree on. "What about fish?"

"Sounds good to me," Kira replied, followed by a smile and nod from Lacus.

"All right, fish it is."

Athrun glanced over at Kira who was sitting beside him, gazing out the car window admiring the sights of the city night life. Athrun's mind had been so centered on eating that he nearly forgot about these odd feelings he'd been experiencing for his childhood friend... Kira felt a pair of emerald eyes on him and turned his head to a blushing Athrun, smiling at him innocently. Athrun immediately jerked his head away in embarassment. It was torture being around Kira like this... Every little thing the brunette did seemed to draw Athrun's attention.

* * *

They returned to the hotel with their stomachs filled and just about ready to turn in for the night. Lacus and Cagali had been walking fairly distanced from Athrun and Kira in the hall so the boys wouldn't hear anything about their little plan. 

"This is the first night they'll sleep together... This should be very interesting..." Cagali whispered with a smirk.

The pink-haired girl giggled mischieviously. "They're just so cute together! This vacation would be perfect if we can successfully manage to get them together."

"Don't worry. We're going to make this work no matter what..." the blonde replied, narrowing her amber eyes with a haughty grin.

Kira heard the girls giggling behind him and looked at Athrun. "What are they talking about back there?" he asked.

"We're probably better off not knowing..." replied Athrun.

They stopped when they reached the door to their room.

"I guess we're checking in for tonight," said Kira to his sister. "Do we have anything planned for tomorrow we should be informed of?"

Cagali crossed her arms in thought. "Well, we were thinking of hitting the beach. But if you two would like to do something else that's fine too," she said.

"The beach sounds good! I can't even remember the last time I went swimming," the brunette replied.

"Great!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed, clapping her hands together and smiling happily.

"We'll just knock in the morning when we figure out when we want to leave. So don't stay up _too _late." Cagali said.

"Okay, we'll see you guys in the morning," Athrun said, smiling at them. The group said their goodnights to one another and went into their assigned rooms.

Kira let himself fall backwards onto the large bed with a flop and sighed. "Man, I'm exhausted. Today seemed like a really long day."

"Yeah..." Athrun replied blankly. Was Kira really that unaware of the situation? Tonight they would have to sleep. In a bed. With _each other_. He turned his head to look at a very spent Kira, sprawled across the bed in a fashion that made Athrun feel very uncomfortable... His silky chocolate-brown hair fell messily across his amethyst eyes which were now closed, his shirt hiked very high up his tight stomach, and his pants lingering dangerously low on his slim hips. Athrun could quickly feel his face becoming very hot. Wait, had he just been eyeing Kira? _What the hell am I thinking! I was just cheking out my best friend!_

He then closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and running a hand through his azure hair. _Maybe if I just ignore my feelings everything will be alright. I hope..._

Kira opened his eyes again and sat up, stretching. "Mmmm... Is it just me or is it a little hot in here?" he asked.

_More than you know..._ Athrun thought. "Uhh a little bit..." he fibbed.

Just then, Kira sat up on the edge of the bed and started unbuttoning his shirt right in front of his bewildered friend. Athrun blushed even deeper at the sight of Kira stripping from his shirt, and tried to focus on something else besides the brunette's tan chest.

Kira had then taken his shirt completely off, tossing it carelessly to the side. He looked up towards his friend who was fidgeting nervously with his hands and avoiding eye contact. He raised one eyebrow in puzzlement.

"Athrun, are you all right?" he asked obliviously.

The blue-haired teen struggled to keep a serious face, but began to sweat under pressure. "I uhh... I think the fish I ate was bad... I'm feeling a little nausiated..." he lied again.

"Oh..." Kira replied. "Would you like to lay down?"

_Oooooooooooooooh crap... _His cheeks now became redder than ever. "I-I... Umm..." he stuttered.

"Here," Kira got up from his spot and walked over to his friend who was sweating profusely. He placed his hand on Athrun's back and guided him to the bed, signaling for him to lie down. Athrun did as he was told nonetheless, how would he even be able to protest against such a caring person? Against Kira, nonetheless.

Kira propped up a pillow for the younger teen as Athrun layed back, Kira smiling warmly down at him.

"We wouldn't want you to be sick for the beach tomorrow. That wouldn't be any fun at all," he said. Kira stood beside Athrun and observed the blue haired one for any signs of discomfort. Athrun shifted uncomfortably under Kira's gaze.

"Are you comfortable enough? Here, let's change you into something else," the brunette said as he reached for Athrun's shirt and tried to unbutton it. Athrun immediately sat up and grabbed Kira by the wrist. Kira looked at him with confusion.

"I can... get that myself..." he said.

"Oh, okay... I'll get you a glass of water then," Kira responded.

Athrun watched Kira in shock. He nearly had forgotten about Kira's typical naiive nature. He was almost amazed at how that part of him hadn't changed one bit even now at the age of 18. Getting up from the bed, he walked over to the dresser and picked out some more comfortable light clothing. By the time he had fully changed, Kira had come back holding a glass in his right hand, setting it on the bedside table.

Athrun made himself situated once more and couldn't help but glance up at those alluring amethyst eyes. There was a tranquil gleam in the eyes of the brunette and his smile was reassuring. Athrun felt his cheeks flush again and forced himself to look away. Why was Kira being so nice to him? Of course friends always acted that way towards each other sometimes, but after just seeing each other again for over 5 years Kira seemed a bit _too_ friendly. Not that he had anything to complain of, for he rather much enjoyed the warm and comforting company of his childhood friend.

"Are you ready to go to sleep, Athrun? Because I'm awfully tired..." Kira said suddenly.

"Oh..." Athrun said, snapping out of his daze. "Yeah I guess so. I'm pretty tired myself."

"Okay. Let me just change first real quick." He turned around and stood in front of his dresser, beggining to strip.

_Change...?_ Athrun's green eyes seemed to involuntarily be drawn to Kira's form again, as he watched the older boy unbutton his pants and slide them down his tanned, slender legs, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. Athrun's face immediately became burning hot, among _other_ parts of his body.

"Umm..." Kira began. "You don't mind if I just sleep like this, do you? It's still pretty hot and uncomfortable in here," he said, turning around.

His breath caught in his throat as his eyes widened, searching inside himself to provide an answer. How would he ever be able to rest knowing his best friend was sleeping with him practically in the nude? What if he accidentally touches him somewhere on accident? What if...! While his conscience battled with himself, he became nervous under pressure and spoke out suddenly. "No! I don't mind..."

"All right then," Kira replied, moving to sit on the edge of his side of the bed. Athrun could feel his heart pounding violently against his chest as his best friend sat no more than 2 feet away from him. He had no idea why he suddenly agreed to Kira sleeping with hardly anything on, but it was too late to take it back now. Kira bent forward to turn off the lamp on his side and layed down facing opposite of Athrun, pulling the silky covers over him.

"Good night Athrun..." he spoke quietly.

"Good night Kira..." Athrun replied softly, reaching forward slightly to turn off the lamp.

* * *

The blue-haired male shifted slightly, slowly and groggily opening his emerald green eyes to the morning sunlight that greeted him through the curtains. He sighed and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. A warm presence was detected very close to his back and he felt hot, moist air hitting the back of his neck... He turned his head slightly and found Kira a little too close for his own comfort and yelped. Kira's arm was slung lazily over his own waist, which must have happened on accident during the elder boy's sleep. Athrun couldn't help but notice how peaceful Kira looked in his sleep... How his dark hair caressed his face and those soft lips were just barely parted, as he breathed steadily and softly. The younger boy struggled to supress the strong urge to stroke the silky brown strands of his friend's hair, but he noticed Kira starting to wake up anyways so scooted away a bit so that Kira wouldn't notice him observing. 

The brunette's eyes slowly fluttered open and caught the sight of his azure-haired friend sitting beside him. He brushed his dishelved bangs out of his face and sat up.

"Good morning Athrun," he said with a cheerful smile.

Athrun smiled back. "Good morning Kira." He looked down Kira's body again and nearly forgot how exposed he was. He blushed and tried to focus on something else.

"S-so, did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was actually really comfortable sleeping like this," he said, laughing a little.

Athrun's blush deepened. "Oh..."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door.

"What? They're up already? What time is it...?" Kira asked.

Athrun turned his head to look at the digital clock. "It's only 8:30..."

"I bet she did this just to irritate me..." Kira said, getting up and walking towards the door.

"Umm Kira..."

Kira opened the door to find, as he expected, Cagali.

"Why did you bother us so early?" Kira asked.

Cagali eyed her brother up and down with an eyebrow cocked. "And may I ask why you are half-naked, brother?" she said, trying hard to supress a laugh.

"Oh crap! Uhhh be right back!" Kira quickly shut the door in his sister's face and ran over to throw a random shirt and pair of shorts on. Athrun coudln't help himself but laugh at his friend's behaviour. He had always been a little clumsy and forgetful as he remembered him from their past, and it seemed that that hadn't changed one bit either.

Kira ran back to the door, stumbling slightly on the way and opened it back up. The blonde on the other side just stood there laughing hysterically. Kira sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Are you quite through?" he said, slightly irritated.

Cagali let herself calm down before she continued. "So, why _were_ you half naked then?" she said with a smirk.

It took Kira a few seconds to register what she really meant and blushed. "It was just hot, that's all..."

"Hahaha right, right."

Kira glared at her.

"Okay, okay, I'm done. So anyways, when do you guys want to go to the beach today? Unless you have other things planned..." She looked over Kira's shoulder at Athrun and grinned.

"Cagali!" Kira shouted, blushing. Athrun happened to overhear their conversation and blushed a matching shade of red to Kira's cheeks.

Cagali started laughing again, slapping her sibling hard on the shoulder.

Lacus came out from behind Cagali, wondering what all the noise was about. "What's going on? What's so funny?" she asked her friend.

"Nothing," Kira said.

The pink-haired girl shrugged. "So what time do you guys want to go to the beach today?" she asked.

Athrun walked up beside Kira and suddenly both girls stared, blushing.

"...What?" both boys said in unison.

"Oh... nothing!" Lacus said, laughing nervously.

"Umm... so what about 11?" Cagali asked.

"That sounds fine," Athrun replied.

"Then 11:00 it is!" said Lacus through a cheery smile.

Cagali narrowed her eyes and grinned. "Some words of advice, Kira, try not to come naked this time."

Lacus's eyes widened in shock. "W-what?"

Kira sighed. "We'll see you guys at 11. Until then, good-bye!" he faked a smile at his cackling sister and shut the door.

* * *

A/N: Well there you go, that's the first part of chapter 2 Awwww their first night sleeping together I am so horribly evil to poor Athrun... XD;;; Ahh well, it's still fun, ne? I hope you all liked it though! I'll try not to be so late for the upcoming chapters... If only high school did not exist... And I wasn't so easily distracted XD;;; Damn those addicting Japanese GSD fanart sites... Time for comments! 

Ravenna's Soul: Yeeesss... Torturing Athrun is the best XDDD And don't worry, there's definitely going to be some nudity in the future of this ficcy >:3Thank you for the review! You were my very first one:3

RuByMoOn17: Everybody has their own preference to Kira being seme or uke, and I don't see a whole lot of fanfictions with seme Kira in them D: Seme Kira is my hero As well as Ecchi Kira! LOL Thank you for your review as well! I appreciate everyone's opinion :3

thu: Waaaaaaaaaii! I love you too much thu-thu glomptacklehug I'm so glad you like my fic! Ahahaha Kira is a huge tease and doesn't even know it ;D Thank you for the review!

Jade Cade: Muahahahaha yes, a shower scene would be nice... If I'm going to have one or not, you'll just have to wait and see ;D hehehe... And trust me, I'm having trouble staying focused on this too... Damn that post-lemon plotting syndrome... XD;;; Thank you for the feedback!

And to everyone else who reviewed, thank you so much! I'm fairly new to being a member here at and you guys are already making me feel at home I love you all!


	3. Chapter 2: Part II: The Beach

Chapter 2-Day 1-Part II: The Beach

* * *

It was beautiful on the beach that day—There weren't too many tourists or local people flooding the area, but it wasn't eerily scarce. The blue-green waters glistened wonderfully in the bright afternoon sun.

Kira, Athrun, Cagali, and Lacus walked down the beach to find a place to set down their things. They recieved plenty of looks, particularly Athrun and Kira by numerous teenaged girls. One girl with short brown hair pulled up into a pony tail and wearing a light blue bikini waved and giggled at Kira, who blushed but smiled and waved back. Athrun found himself glaring at the girl and felt a strange aching sensation in his chest. Was it... jealousy? He tried to shrug it off but girls admired Kira one after another, and the brunette didn't seem to mind at all.

Athrun tugged on Kira's upper arm. "Can we hurry up and find a place to sit down?" he said, blushing slightly with a hint of distress written on his face.

"How about over there?" Cagali pointed to an empty spot on the white sand.

They headed in that direction and set down their bags, towels, umbrellas, and chairs. "Why did we have to bring so much stuff?" Kira asked, dropping three bags onto the ground.

Cagali ignored her brother's comment and pulled out a clear bottle containing tanning oil, and tossed it to Athrun. "Here, Lacus and I have already put some on before we got here so you two can put it on each other," the blonde said, smiling profoundly.

The boys stared at each other, Athrun's face being more red than Kira's but both of them feeling slightly awkward. Kira shrugged and turned around in front of the younger teen. Athrun raised his eyebrow.

"Well we might as well get started," Kira said, sounding oblivious as ever. Cagali and Lacus dashed off towards the water to leave the boys alone, and foremostly, to test their plan.

"Uh—Okay..." Athrun opened the cap and squeezed a generous amount of oil into his palm and rubbed his hands together. He began at Kira's shoulders, moving down between his shoulder blades, down his back, and up again. His face became very hot as he watched the tan skin of his friend glisten above the well-shaped muscles underneath. Kira made a small noise of contentment, being unable to ignore the soothing feeling of Athrun's hands massaging his back.

Once Athrun finished, he handed the bottle to Kira. "Umm I assume you can finish the rest." Kira chuckled in response. "Yeah."

Kira turned to the side and began rubbing oil onto his chest, arms, legs, and any other part of his body that was exposed. Athrun found himself staring once again, watching beneath his navy bangs as the older boy touched himself in an accidentally sensual manner.

Once he finished, he placed his hand on Athrun's shoulder, startling the younger teen. "Your turn!" said the brunette, smiling cheerily. Athrun blushed and turned around for Kira and thought how the older boy could be so naiive it was almost embarrassing at times... Kira poured more of the liquid into his hands and rubbed the oil onto Athrun's back, almost mirroring the way Athrun had done to Kira. Once Kira finished with his back, he moved up and over his shoulders instead of stopping, and massaged the area around Athrun's collar bone.

Athrun's eyes widened and sat straight up. Kira's hands moved further down and across his chest, causing an alarm to go off inside the younger boy's mind. "Kira...!" he said, grabbing the other boy's wrists to stop his motion. "Ummm... I can take it from here..." He lowered his head to cover the deep blush on his cheeks with his bangs and gently took the bottle from Kira's grasp. "Did I do something wrong...?" the brunette asked, puzzled.

"Uhh no..." Athrun lied. He proceeded to cover his own body with the tanning oil, trying his best to forget about what just happened. He stole a glance out of the corner of his eye at his friend, who so happened to be staring. The blunette nervously cleared his throat. Kira really had a thing for making him feel uncomfortable... And was a huge tease whether he knew it or not.

Lacus and Cagali had been watching their test subjects from the water and couldn't help but bubble with laughter. "I think it's working, Caga-chan!" the pink haired one exclaimed. "I think you're right... They can't take their eyes off each other!" she replied happily. "Let's see how the rest of the day goes..."

* * *

Throughout the day, Athrun was being secretly tormented by every little thing his best friend did—The way he walked, the way his dark chocolate hair stuck to his face when wet, the way his swimming trunks hugged his—

"Heads up!" a familiar voice shouted, shortly before a large beach ball bumped him upside the head. Athrun was quickly pulled away from his thoughts and turned around to glare at the violet-eyed boy smiling innocently at him. He sighed and went back to reading a novel which he had no particular interest in, but if it would take his mind off of a certain someone, then that was good enough.

Merely seconds later, a pair of footsteps were heard rapildy approaching his way and he turned his head up to see no one but Kira standing before him. The said boy grabbed his arm and yanked him up off the ground.

"Athrun! No one reads books at the beach," Kira said, pulling the novel out of his friend's grasp and tossing it carelessly to the place where Athrun was sitting. Before the blue-haired teen could say anything, Kira grabbed hold of his friend's wrist and pulled him towards the water.

"Uhh what are you doing?" Athrun asked nervously.

"You haven't touched the water all day! You can't expect to come to the beach and not get wet," the brunette replied, smiling.

"Hey Athrun!" Cagali shouted, waving. "You finally decided to get up and have fun?" she added, laughing.

Athrun rolled his eyes and before he knew it, he was knee-high in the water. Kira placed his hands on his friend's back and gave him an abrubt push, causing Athrun to loose his balance and fall face down in the water. The trio laughed prominently, but their laughter was quickly cut off when a strong wave rushed by and dragged Kira's ankles, causing him to lose balance this time and fall directly on top of Athrun. It took a while for Kira to register what just happened, until a body was thrashing wildly for air underneath him. He blushed and quickly got off his friend, who darted up coughing up water and gasping for breath.

Kira blushed with embarassment while Cagali and Lacus only laughed harder than before. Athrun regained his posture and turned around panting from both lack of air and sudden body contact with the object of his thoughts.

"Er... Sorry about that," Kira said, laughing nervously and scratching the back of his neck.

"That's okay... It was just an accident..." Athrun replied, trying to avoid eye contact.

The brunette tilted his head to the side and looked at his friend with concern. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

When Athrun turned his head to look at Kira a sudden wave of saltwater splashed over their bodies, followed by a pair of female laughter.

"Got you!" teased Cagali.

"She who laughs, laughs last!" Kira shot back at his sister, splashing her in return.

The twins splashed each other until one would surrender, which neither of them seemed to have an intention of doing. Athrun and Lacus laughed at the siblings' display. Cagali moved to the side slightly and splashed Athrun this time with the same force she used on Kira, soaking him completely. Kira turned around and copied his sister's actions, laughing haughtily afterwards. Athrun got him back this time and soon enough the quartet got themselves into a water fight.

Once the four gave into each other and were thoroughly soaked from head to toe, they waded back to shore to dry off and get something to eat.

"So what is everyone hungry for?" asked Lacus who was currently wringing her thigh-length candy-colored hair.

"I kinda have a craving for ice cream..." commented Kira.

"Okay! I think they sell some over there," Lacus replied, pointing to a small cluster of booths not too far ahead.

"Lacus and I can go get it. Just tell me what you guys like," Cagali said, beaming at the pair of boys.

"Uhhh I'll have vanilla," said Kira.

"Strawberry sounds fine to me," added Athrun.

"Okay! We'll be back in a jiffy!" Lacus chanted, leaving with Cagali.

Kira leaned back on his arms and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "It's really nice out today, don't you think Athrun?"

Athrun looked down at him and smiled. "Yeah, it is."

Kira chuckled and layed down on his towel, closing his eyes and sighing contently. Athrun took advantage of his friend's sight being obscured to let his eyes roam over the lean, but muscular body beside him. His face became hot when he realized he was admiring Kira's frame again, but somehow couldn't seperate his eyes from the inviting skin.

"It's nice to be able to spend time with each other again." Kira's voice broke Athrun from his trance as the brunette turned his head, opening those familiar violet orbs. "I can't believe how much you've changed!" Kira added with a chuckle. Athrun smiled down at him in response. "You've changed a lot yourself, Kira," Athrun said. Kira laughed and closed his eyes again.

No more than a minute later, Cagali and Lacus returned with their hands full of ice cream cones. "We're back!" the pink-haired one said.

Kira immediately perked up. "Great, swimming always works up my appetite," he said. Athrun smiled at his friend and observed him for a while. Kira grabbed his ice cream and spotted some trickling down the side from being exposed to heat and slowly lapped at it with the tip of his tongue.

Athrun's face heated up and he felt his pulse quicken. Kira then trailed his tongue up to the top and opened his mouth to lick at the ice cream.

"Ummm Athrun?" said Cagali, snapping him from his fantasy. "Aren't you going to take your ice cream?"

"Oh... Yeah..." He blushed and took it from Cagali, staring at it for a second and looking back at Kira. The girls couldn't stop giggling, though Athrun could hardly tell because his mind was completely focused on Kira alone. And his ice cream. He couldn't stop thinking how horridly suggestive Kira's tongue at his ice cream was and had to pull himself back to reality. He quickly turned his head away and tried to finish his own ice cream, that task alone being difficult to achieve with his "best friend" beside him carrying on his secret torture.

* * *

Their day at the beach had come to an end, returning back to the hotel after having spent the whole day in the sun and water.

"Well today has been fun, ne?" Lacus said happily as they stood in front of the doors to their rooms.

"Yeah, it has," Kira replied, smiling back.

"Just wait until you see what we have planned for the _rest _of the week," Cagali said, grinning to herself at her secret anology. Lacus giggled at the said comment, knowing what she really meant.

"We'll see you guys in the morning," Kira said, waving goodbye and opening the door to his and Athrun's room.

"Bye!" chanted the females in unison, returning to their room as well.

Kira let Athrun head in before him and shut the door behind them. He headed straight for the bed and let himself plop down very ungracefully onto his stomach. "Ahhhhh... I'll never get of this bed..." he sighed. Athrun laughed in response and set his things on a table. "I think I'm going to take a shower... I've got sand in all the wrong places," the younger boy said. Kira laughed. "Okay. I'll be here," Kira replied fetching the remote and switching through the TV stations.

Athrun grabbed a t-shirt and a light pair of shorts that he normally wore to bed along with a fresh pair of boxers into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and turned the hot water on in the shower. The water didn't take long to heat up as he stripped down completely and stepped in, letting the warm water soothe over his muscles and replaying the events of the day, most importantly, memories of his best friend...

* * *

A/N: HUAAAAAAAAAAH! Sorry that took so long again for another update! And this one wasn't even that eventful! GOMEN NASAI! ;; I worked really hard to cram this part in though, because I feel bad for leaving you all in suspense all the time xD The next chapter will be worth it this time though, trust me ;D THANK YOU for all your reviews and keep them coming! They are, after all, fuel for my inspiration and most importantly, get me off my lazy arse xD;;; I love you all! 


	4. Chapter 3: Realizations

A/N: First of all, wooooooow… I bet a lot of you forgot about this or thought it died from my lack of updating! Hmmm seven months…. Has it really been that long? o.o; Looks like I went through a seven MONTH tribulation… Hahahaa… Well you see, I had an unfortunate mishap with the floppy drive that held ALL my fanfics… Basically, everything was erased and gone forever after I almost had this chapter completed, so I almost lost the will to attempt to re-do it. But, I figured the only way I could move on in this to get to the better stuff (wink wink) would be to suck it up and re-write it. So, after seven months, here's chapter 3! (or 4, whatever you want to call it…) And at a whopping 10 ½ pages. I worked really hard to bring this one back to life, so I really hope it was worth it!

Gah, anyways, on with the fic. I think you've all waited long enough as it is… Oh! And thank you everyone for all your wonderful reviews! You're the reason I decided to revive this afterall :D

Chapter 3: Realizations

* * *

Reaching for the shampoo, Athrun flipped the cap open and immediately noticed a heavy fruity scent. His face cringed slightly, looking around to see if anything else was available. Nothing came into sight and he sighed, regretfully pouring the pink-colored liquid into his palms and lathering it into his navy hair. After a few seconds the entire bathroom was filled with the citrus-smelling shampoo, giving the boy a light-headed feeling, but surprisingly soothing to the senses as well.

While he washed his hair, his mind began to drift off. Reoccurring thoughts of the day played in his head, mainly the events with Kira. He especially remembered the time when Kira fell on top of him in the water, partly because he nearly drowned but mostly because of the strange feelings his best friend gave him at feeling his body on his… Immediately he shook his head from the thought and tried to think of something else. Everything he saw anymore made him think of Kira, even the bar of soap on the shower ledge.

He sighed frustratingly and finished washing up. After turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a fluffy white towel from the brass rack and tied one around his waist and grabbed a second to dry his hair with. Walking over to the mirror he wiped it clear of fog and noticed an embarrassing pink blush on his cheeks. While it was most likely from the heat of the water, he didn't doubt that it was influenced by thoughts of his best friend either. After bending over in front of the mirror and ruffling his hair with the towel until it would stop dripping, he dried the rest of his body off before dressing in his bed attire.

Walking out of the steamy bathroom, Athrun glanced at Kira who had been casually reading a magazine he brought along with him. Kira noticed his friend enter the room and turned his head, setting the magazine down on the nightstand. "There was nothing on TV," the brunette stated. Athrun smiled and padded over to the bed to have a seat next to his best friend. Kira tilted his head and sat up, moving his face close to Athrun's. Athrun immediately felt his face heat up as his nerves sparked, until Kira stopped only to smell his fragrant hair. The brunette laughed. "Why does your hair smell like fruit?" Kira asked. Athrun lowered his head in embarrassment. "It was the only thing there…" he replied. "It smells nice on you though…" Kira said, giving his friend a smile and a wink.

Athrun returned a bewildered stare at his best friend, feeling a deeper blush creep to his cheeks. Kira laughed in response, getting up to head for the shower. Athrun stayed put on the bed, staring blankly at his feet. _"What the hell was that about…?" _the blunette pondered. It wasn't normal for Kira to behave so… flirtasiously, if that was the word. He shook his head and concluded that Kira was probably just being his regular teasing self. He laid back and shoved a pillow over his face, as if to knock some common sense into his head. His feelings for Kira were starting to get weirder by the minute. The question of his sexuality also came about, realizing that he'd never really been with many girls in his past. He and Cagalli had almost become a couple at one point, but they soon realized that they were better friends than lovers.

Athrun turned on his side and heaved a sigh, lowering the pillow below his chin and embracing it. Now that he thought of it, Kira was the only person he really ever depended on and longed to see again since their childhood together. The day they had to part was one of the most tragic memories of his past, and ever since they had been away from each other, he would go through photos of them together and remember the times they had. Every day he would pray he would get the chance to see Kira once again, and that he would never change or forget about their friendship. That moment finally came just days ago, and now that they were together, Athrun never wanted to be away from Kira ever again in fear of losing him forever. Kira gives him a sense of security and warmth, knowing that he will always be all right just to have his best friend at his side.

A nostalgic smile pulled at his lips, closing his eyes and hugging the pillow tighter to his warmed body. His mind roamed freely over events from their childhood, sifting through to the most memorable ones…

_:Flashback:_

"_Kira! Come back!" a small blue-haired boy yelled, running clumsily after his friend in the rain. "Kira! It's too wet! Come back over here!" he said, stopping in the middle of the grass as he watched Kira jump in the muddy puddles, soiling his clothes and body. Athrun crossed his arms and sighed. Kira turned around laughing and began running at Athrun, jumping on him and tackling him to the ground. "Kira! You're getting my clothes all wet and dirty!" the blunette protested, shoving his friend off his chest. "You're no fun," Kira pouted, sitting on his knees and jutting his lower lip out. Athrun got up and pushed his wet hair out of his face, looking at Kira. Suddenly Kira stood up and quickly pressed his lips to Athrun's, before running away from him again and shouting, "Try and catch me!"_

_Athrun stood with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what just happened…_

_:End flashback:_

"_That's right… Kira stole my first…" _Athrun blinked twice. _"But we were just children. It didn't mean anything, did it? We took baths together and stuff…"_

Suddenly the bathroom door opened, snapping Athrun from his daze. And there was Kira, dressed in only a small towel that hung dangerously low on his waist, his skin freshly flecked with beads of water.

"Uhhh, I forgot my clothes," said the brunette, smiling nervously and walking to his drawer to pick out some shorts, a lightweight shirt, and a pair of boxers. As Kira stood back up, the knot of his towel became loose and Athrun blushed a vibrant shade of red before his friend quickly tied the towel securely back into place. Saying nothing else, Kira headed back for the bathroom before giving his friend a quick glance through the side of his bangs and disappearing behind the bathroom door.

Athrun could hear the thrumming of blood in his ears, with his heart beating feverishly against his chest. Could it really be that he was feeling hot for his best friend? He curled his body tighter up with the pillow in his arms, and now because of the towel incident, images of Kira half-naked plagued his mind.

Kira came back out of the bathroom, this time fully dressed, wearing a pair of light blue shorts and a baggy black T-shirt. Kira smiled at his friend and plopped himself beside the blunette, laying on his back and sighing contently.

"You were right about that shampoo, Athrun," he said. "I started to get a headache after a while…"

Athrun chuckled faintly in response. "Maybe we should get some new shampoo while we're here," he added.

"Yeah," Kira replied. He turned his head to the blunette, who was still clutching his pillow protectively. "I don't think it's going to be leaving you any time soon," the brunette humored.

Athrun blushed and placed the pillow back under his head. "I was just… cold…" he said.

"Oh. Maybe we should share our warmth then," Kira said, scooting closer to Athrun.

"W-wha—" Athrun was cut off as Kira suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around his torso. Immediately he felt a hot blush rise to his earlobes, his body squirming uncomfortably. "Kira, what are you doing!"

"Aww come on! We used to do this all the time when we were younger," Kira said, snuggling closer to his friend with a smile.

"But we're not eight anymore Kira…" said Athrun, trapped in his friend's grasp.

Kira sighed, his breath unconsciously hitting the back of Athrun's neck, sending shivers down the younger boy's spine. "Can't I just hold you like this for a while? I've missed you so much…"

Athrun's eyes softened and he remained still, being touched by Kira's words. "I've missed you too, Kira…" Who cares if they were embracing in bed? As bad as that sounded, but they were best friends that hadn't seen each other in what seemed like an eternity.

The rhythm of Kira's breathing and heartbeat began to lull Athrun to sleep, his green eyes fluttering shut and breath becoming steadier. They fell asleep in each other's arms for the first time since childhood that night…

* * *

The bright sunrays of the new morning peering through the curtains had awoken Kira, who sighed and rubbed his eyes groggily. A smile pulled at his lips at seeing his best friend right beside him, still in his arms like the way they had fallen asleep the night before. Sitting up, he lazily played with Athrun's navy blue locks in his fingers, which had a very alluring texture. His pale skin glowed brilliantly in the morning light, and Kira had the strangest urge to touch his skin as well. Kira gently pushed Athrun's hair behind his ear and carefully laid his fingertips on the warm flesh, stroking it softly. His skin felt absolutely perfect, just as it looked.

It was until he noticed Athrun beginning to wake up did he withdraw his hand, blushing slightly. The blunette blinked his eyes and stretched with a groan, flipping on his back to look up at Kira. He couldn't help but smile at the warm and inviting image of his best friend.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Kira joked, ruffling Athrun's hair.

Athrun laughed, scrunching his nose in a sinfully cute way. "How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"Just a couple of minutes," Kira replied. After several seconds of silence, Kira received another strange urge. Tilting his head to the side, Kira wondered if Athrun was still as ticklish as he was when they were little…. "Hey Athrun," Kira said, causing Athrun to turn his head.

"What?"

Without warning, Kira pounced on Athrun, lifting his shirt up his stomach and tickling his sides.

"Ki—Kira! N—Hahahaa!" Athrun laughed, becoming helpless and sensitive in Kira's clutches. It appeared Kira had still remembered his number one weakness. "Kira! No! Haha! S—Stop!" Athrun desperately attempted to plead, as beads of tears began to build up in the corners of his eyes.

Kira laughed along with Athrun, tickling him with more force and causing his friend to writhe helplessly, laughing harder. "Kira, Kira! Ahhhhh! Stop!"

Suddenly knocking came from their hotel door causing both boys to freeze in place and fall silent. Athrun realized how suggestive their position looked and blushed heatedly, quickly wriggling out from underneath Kira, smoothing out his hair and clothes. "Umm… I'll get it," he said, quickly heading for the door.

An extra happy pink-haired girl was at the door, smiling innocently at the slightly disheveled blunette. "Umm, what is it?" he asked.

"Oh, Cagalli just sent me over to wake you two up." She stood on her toes and looked past Athrun's shoulder. "But it looks like that's already been done," she added with a giggle. Athrun blushed and quickly tried to change the subject.

"So… Why did she want us up? Are we going somewhere today?" he asked.

"Well actually, I was wanting to have us all go on an exciting shopping adventure today!" She giggled once more, clapping her hands together. "She said that if I wanted to go so bad then I had to come wake you up myself… But that's okay. I wanted to get an early start," she added.

Athrun sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Well when do you want us to be ready?"

"Oh, as soon as possible. Cagalli and I are going down to the lobby in about 15 minutes. So meet us down there when you're ready, okay?"

"Sure…" Athrun replied.

"Okay! We'll see you then!" Lacus smiled back and happily went off to return to her room.

Shutting the door, Athrun looked back at Kira who had moved into a sitting position on the bed. "So what's the deal?" Kira asked.

"Well, they want us to get dressed and meet them in the lobby in about 15 minutes. I guess we'd better get going or they'll end up harassing us later," said Athrun, smiling humorously.

Kira laughed and ran his hands through his messy brown hair.

* * *

-About 15 minutes later-

"Well it's been fifteen minutes and I don't see them anywhere. They were the ones who wanted to do this so shouldn't they be the ones to get here first?" Kira proclaimed, slightly irritated.

Athrun couldn't help but laugh at this side of Kira. He was kind of cute when angry… "Don't worry about it Kira. They shouldn't be much longer…"

Kira huffed and crossed his arms, glancing at his friend and then the elevator doors. Just then the doors opened, and out came Lacus and Cagalli. Lacus took a quick look around and spotted Kira and Athrun, waving and running over to them. Cagalli followed the pink-haired girl closely behind and slung her arm around Kira's neck. "What's up guys?"

Annoyed, Kira pushed her arm off him. "What took you guys so long? Weren't you supposed to get here first?"

"Oh…" Cagalli smiled nervously, secretly glaring at Lacus. "Lacus couldn't decide what to wear…"

Everyone looked towards Lacus and she blushed, laughing nervously also. "Well that's what we're going shopping for, right?"

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "Well let's get going then. I wanna go early before the stores get too crowded."

* * *

And their day of shopping consisted of hours in only one store at a time and a very picky Lacus who could never decide what to buy and had to make numerous laps around the stores, analyzing every article of clothing in the building closely and carefully. It got to a point where they had to keep telling her which ones to pick and make up excuses to get out of the store and to save the pink-haired one less uncertainty. She ended up buying about ten or more outfits, Cagalli with a few shirts and cargo pants, and Kira and Athrun with nothing at all so far.

"Well I think we're done, but Kira and Athrun haven't bought anything yet…" said Lacus.

"Well that's because most of the stores we've been to are girl stores," Kira replied.

Cagalli glanced at her watch and grinned. "Well most of the stores here are open for about fifteen more minutes. We have enough time to run you two into some shops…"

"Yeah! Let's hurry then!" said Lacus, grabbing the boys' hands and dragging them behind her.

They traveled the outlet mall together with little time left and in search of a nice stylish men's clothing store. After a few more minutes Lacus stopped in front of a place called "Hybrid" and smiled brightly, pushing the boys inside and following behind them. "We're coming in too to make sure you buy something," she said.

"Why do we _need _to buy something?" asked Kira.

"Just look at your wardrobe! Trust me, we're doing you a favor," commented the blonde. Kira scoffed at her in response and Cagalli laughed at her brother mockingly.

"Let's just get this over with. I don't want to be stuck when the place closes," said Athrun.

Lacus nodded and began to search the store, picking out various shirts and pants and handing them to Kira and Athrun. She happened to walk by an organized glass case of different kinds of men's underwear and couldn't help but take a quick peek. She began bubbling with giggles when she found a particular garment and held it up to Kira. "Hey Kira, what do you think of this?" She held up a black, leather thong and continued laughing.

"Lacus!" A blushing Athrun turned Lacus away from Kira and told her to put it back immediately.

Cagalli and even Kira, though he was blushing slightly, began to laugh also.

"Uhh, let's just hurry. We're running out of time," stated Athrun, who was still trying to hide his red cheeks.

"Okay, okay. Let's just pick out a few more things and then you can go try them on." Cagalli helped Lacus find more clothes for the boys and pushed them towards the changing rooms.

"Are you sure we're going to have enough time to try ALL of this on?" asked Kira, trying to balance the pile of clothes he was holding.

"Oh, of course! Just go," Lacus said, shoving them inside.

"Have fun!" Cagalli remarked jokingly.

As Kira and Athrun stepped into the dressing room entrance, they began looking for open stalls and unfortunately only one open stall was in sight.

"Umm… There's only one available Kira…" Athrun commented nervously.

Kira glanced at his watch. "And we've only got about seven minutes left…"

Athrun looked back to the exit. "We can't escape from them either…"

Kira shrugged and suddenly grabbed Athrun's hand, causing him to blush once again. "Oh well, let's just share this one and get it over with."

Athrun went in with Kira and gulped dryly. He could feel his face flushed up to his ears as they entered the stall together and shut the door. Kira had immediately started stripping in order to finish trying on all the clothes Lacus and Cagalli picked out for him. As Kira undressed, he accidentally bumped and brushed against Athrun doing so, causing the blunette to become even more flushed.

"Umm, Sorry Athrun…" Kira commented when he nudged Athrun in the ribs by accident. "D-don't worry about it Kira," Athrun replied. Athrun secretly watched Kira's half-naked form as the brunette dressed into the other outfits. He watched his toned muscles flex on his shoulders and back as Kira moved about. _"I've **got **to stop doing this… I don't want Kira thinking I'm a perv…" _Athrun thought, beginning to take off his own clothes. Both boys happened to bend in the same direction, causing their forearms to brush against one another. They glanced at each other briefly before quickly going back to changing.

Kira turned back to Athrun. "What do you think?" he asked, dressed in a formal black, collared shirt with quarter-length sleeves and some nicely fit faded jeans. "Ummm, it looks good on you…" Athrun replied, trying as best he could to hide the growing blush on his face. Kira smiled and then went back to trying on the rest of his clothing. Athrun turned away from Kira to change his pants and out of nerves, he accidentally slipped when he tried to pull them off his ankles and fell backwards into Kira, the older boy catching him in his arms. "Are you okay?" Kira asked, chuckling afterwards. Athrun's face felt like it was on fire. For a moment he couldn't even find the guts to speak, but pulled away from Kira, grabbing a new pair of pants and quickly pulling them on while trying not to fall again. "I'm fine, I just… Lost balance…" he said meekly.

The boys finally finished trying on all their clothes with a couple minutes to spare. They changed back into their regular clothes and exited the dressing rooms with the new clothes piled up messily in their arms.

"Done?" Cagalli asked.

Kira nodded in response and Lacus smiled, gathering Kira's clothes from his arms. "Let's go hurry up and pay then we can leave," she said.

Athrun sighed in relief, exhausted from the long day. Once they finished paying for their clothes, they left the outlet mall with various sizes and shapes of shopping bags, Lacus with the most, and began on their way to their hotel a few blocks away. On their way back Lacus did most of the talking as usual, as the other three played the "smile and nod" game. Occasionally Cagalli would poke fun at her brother, who would retaliate with a few comebacks. Athrun found the siblings' quarreling rather tiresome… Which made him feel even more exhausted.

* * *

Finally, Athrun felt relief wash over him when he was back in the comfort of their room. He sighed and dropped his bags by the closet, heading over to the very inviting bed. He let himself fall lazily onto the soft mattress face-first and smiled, grabbing for a pillow and snuggling closely to it. Behind him, he heard the laughter of his best friend.

"Tired much?" Kira asked, setting his bags down and starting to take off his clothes. Athrun was too tired to even reply as his eyelids felt so heavy he could barely keep them open. Suddenly he felt an extra weight set on the mattress that was his friend in nothing but his boxers. Snapping his half-lidded eyes wide open, Athrun blushed and sat upright, glancing at Kira nervously.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked, lying on his back with his hands drawn behind his head.

Athrun tried to remain calm and hide his embarrassment. "Oh, it's nothing. I just get jumpy when I fight sleep…" he lied. When he was trying to fight sleep, a foghorn wouldn't even phase him. It was just Kira… He seemed to posses a special ability that could throw all of Athrun's senses out of whack at any time.

"Umm, you don't mind me sleeping like this do you? I feel more comfortable this way," Kira said.

"No, it's no big deal. We're best friends, it's not like we haven't done this before…" Athrun replied, feeling slightly more embarrassed having sounded a bit too straightforward. Kira smiled and sighed, looking towards the flashing green digits on the clock beside him. "It's only 10. Do you want to watch some TV or something?" Kira stated.

"You can if you want, I think I'll just lay here and try to relax a little," Athrun replied.

Kira turned his head and laughed. "Aren't you going to change first?"

Athrun looked down his own body, which was still dressed in the attire he wore for the entire day. "Oh… I guess I should then," Athrun responded, chuckling lightly. He got up off the mattress and pulled off his shirt, deciding that there was really no need to be changing in the bathroom with just Kira around. _"Right… Just Kira…" _He grabbed a fresh nightshirt and put it on, changing his pants last and replacing them with some loose-fitting shorts. He looked around the floor and saw all their clothes from the week scattered on the floor, deciding it was probably time to start cleaning up a little. He walked around the room and grabbed various shirts and pants, both his and Kira's and dumped them into the hamper to be washed later on.

After clearing the floor of dirty clothes, he returned to his side of the bed and slipped underneath the covers, making himself comfortable and sighing contently. He felt his eyelids slowly flutter shut as the idea of sleep tempted his mind. Kira turned off the TV after several minutes later and turned the lights off. "Good night Athrun…"

By this time, Athrun was already too engulfed by sleep to even hear Kira speaking.

* * *

A pair of emerald green eyes became unveiled in the dark room when something caused him to awaken from his sleep. Athrun had no idea what time it was now or how long he'd been asleep for, but he thought he'd felt something grab him. After a few minutes of nothing, he concluded that he probably just had a bad dream and it was all in his head. He closed his eyes again and tried to fall back asleep, until he felt a body press against his back. Athrun gasped lightly and opened his eyes wide. He tried to scoot away from Kira, but an arm wrapped around his body and pulled him back.

Athrun heard Kira mumble something incoherent under his breath and decided his friend must have been having a dream. He held still to see if Kira would stop or turn over, but the older boy remained clasped around the blunette. This time Kira's arm moved, but not off of Athrun. Instead, his hand moved down Athrun's body and clutched at his shirt while Kira mumbled something again which Athrun couldn't make out.

The blunette gulped. What was Kira dreaming?

"Ath… nn…" Kira moved against Athrun again, making more noises than before. Athrun felt blood rush up to his face and ears when Kira's hand went up his shirt and brushed against his skin, causing Athrun to make an odd squeak. By now, Athrun's heart was beating fast and loudly in his ears and his breathing was quickening also.

Kira's hand moved further south and landed on Athrun's crotch, groping it lazily. Athrun exhaled loudly and when Kira's hand and arm withdrew, he hurriedly scampered off the bed and found his way to the bathroom, opening the door and locking himself inside after turning on the light by the shower so it wouldn't wake Kira. He let himself slide down the wall and land on the floor on his bum, panting heavily.

"_Kira… He just… But…" _Athrun's mind was racing through thoughts which dizzied him. He let his head fall back against the wall and placed a hand over his forehead, which felt hot. _"I must be dreaming… This all seems too unreal to comprehend…" _Athrun looked down and noticed a bulge in his shorts. _"This isn't happening… What if Kira finds me like this?" _Athrun sighed and tried to let himself calm down. _"A dream. Kira was just having a dream." _After his mind cooled down more, there was still heat concentrating in his southern region. Athrun bit his lip.

"_How can you do this to me…" _

* * *

A/N: Ta-da! I actually did it! So? Was my re-attempt a complete failure? Was Kira really dreaming of Athrun? Are Athrun's feelings for Kira finally official? Will Rei stop asking you questions? All your questions will be answered with a simple review! Well, maybe not ALL your questions… If you're wondering about the meaning of life I can't help you there… Wait, I know the meaning of life! To read and write wonderful fanfiction! (Okay maybe that's a bit exaggerating…) 


	5. Discontinued PLEASE READ!

A/N: Well in case any of you didn't notice, it's been over a YEAR since I updated on this fanfiction. I felt kind of bad for neglecting this story because I got so many wonderful reviews on it and stuff... But I've just lost interest in it D: Another reason was I started running into problems in the plot and I got a little bit stuck... And from that point where I was stuck I suppose I just gave up... I've moved on to different fandoms now, but this one was a really fun one! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and I am deeply sorry for dropping the story. I will leave it up though in case you ever feel like reading what's there XD; But I will definitely not be adding any more chapters to Seven Day Tribulations in the future.

Thanks for your support and farewell!


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